Ink-well.



A. W. SGHIRL.

INK WELL.

APPLICATION FILED JAN. 29, 1913.

1,083,861 Patented Jan. 6, 1914.

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A. w. SGHIRL.

INK WELL.

APPLICATION FILED JAN. 29, 1913.

Patented Jan. 6, 1914;

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0.. WASHINGTON D c UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

ARTHUR WM. SCI-IIRL, 0F MILWAUKEE, WISCONSIN.

INK-WELL.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, ARTHUR WILLIAM SOHIRL, a citizen of the UnitedStates, residing at Milwaukee, in the county of Milwaukee and State oflVisconsin, have invented new and useful Improvements in Inkells, ofwhich the following is a specificae tion.

My invention relates to an ink well which will not spill its contentswhen tipped over.

The primary object of the invention is to provide a device of thischaracter comprising a stationary supporting body and a mov able inkcontainer suspended within the said body so that it will remainconstantly in an upright position with its pen opening uppermost nomatter what position the supporting body may assume.

A further object of the invention is to provide means for locking themovable container in a rigid upright position while the supporting bodyis in its erect position and to provide further means for releasing thesaid locking means at the instant the supporting body becomesoverturned.

The invention consists in the features of construction, combination, andarrangement of parts, hereinafter fully described and claimed, referencebeing had to the accompanying drawings, in which:

Figure 1 is a side elevation of the device; Fig. 2 is a plan view of thesame showing the lid removed; Fig. 3 is a longitudinal sectional viewtaken on line 38 of Fig. 1. Fig. 4c is a transverse sectional view takenon line a e of Fig. 3; Fig. 5 is a detail perspective view of themovable ink container and its suspension means; Fig. 6 is a top planview of the same; and, Fig. 7 is a longitudinal sectional view throughthe entire ink well when tipped over.

In the drawings the numeral 1 designates the stationary, supporting bodyof the ink well, which may be constructed of any desired shape or of anymaterial, but may be constructed as shown in the form of a hollowelliptical body mounted upon a suitable base 2. This body is composed ofseparable upper and lower sections 3 and 4, which are threaded togetheras at 5.

A hollow ink container 6, which is preferably spherical in shape andwhich is provided with a pen opening 7 in its top wall and a heavyweighted bottom wall 8, is mounted within the body 1 by means of atripple motion suspension device. This sus- Specification of LettersPatent.

Application filed January 29, 1913.

Patented Jan. 6, 1914.

Serial No. 744,992.

pension device includes an outer attaching ring 10, which is securedwithin the body between the annular flanges 11 and 12 provided upon thebody portions 3 and 4 respectively, and an inner movable ring 13 havingdiametrically opposite pivot members 14: adjustably connected therewithand provided with rounded heads 15 for rotary and sliding movementwithin the internal, annular groove 16 in the ring 10, the said ring 13being pivotally connected to the ink container 6 at points spaced ninetydegrees from the pivot members 14 by means of adjustable pivot screws 17mounted within openings within the said ring 13 and having recesses 18in their inner ends for the reception of the diametrically oppositetrunnion 19 provided upon the container 6. These trunnions 19 arepreferably disposed above the geometric center of the container 6, sothat the center of gravity of the same will be lowered further, theweighted bottom 8 thus being aided in maintaining the container in itsupright position. The said container is provided with an inwardlyprojecting frusto-conical shield 20 surrounding the pen opening 7 sothat the ink will be prevented from splashing out of the container onexcessive swinging of the same, due to sudden overturning of the inkwell body. It will thus be seen that I have provided suspension meansfor the ink container which will cause the same to be maintained inupright position when the supporting body becomes overturned or evenwhen it rolls upon the desk or other surface upon which it is mounted,this last-named motion of the body being allowed for by the ability ofthe rounded heads 15 of the pivot members 14 to slide within theinternal groove 16 of the attaching ring.

The upper end of the body portion 3 is provided with an opening 21permitting communication with the pen opening 7 in the ink container,and a closure cap or lid 22 is adapted to close this opening. The body 1may be cut away at intervals, as shown, in order to lighten thestructure and permit access to the suspension device for the pur' poseof adjustment of the pivot members, without the necessity of separatingthe body portions. In the use of an ink well of this character, it isdesirable that the ink container should be maintained rigid in itsupright position while the supporting body is likewlse erect, sothatthere will be no danger of the container being turned, due

to misdirected insertion of the pen nib within the opening 21, so as tocause the pen opening 7 of the ink container to be moved out ofregistration with opening 21 or even to be moved into such a positionthat the ink may escape therefrom. In order to meet this requirement ofusage, I have provided means for normally locking the ink container inupright position as long as the supporting body is upright. A framemember 23 is mounted within the body portion T and comprises anuppermost plate 2 a yoke 25 depending therefrom, and an interposed plate26. The parts of this frame mem ber may be formed integrally or may beseparable, as proves desirable in the manufacture of the device. Theframe plates 2% and 26 and the yoke 25 are centrally provided withalined vertical openings for the reception of a slidably and rotatablymounted locking plunger 27. The upper engaging end of th plunger 27 isadapted normally to be maintained in engagement within the recess 28provided in the flattened bottom of the container 6 by means of ahelical spring 29 which surrounds the said plunger between the plates 2%and 26 in interposed relation to the last-named plate and a collar 00secured to the said plunger for limiting engagement with the firstnamedplate 24. A tripping lever 31 is pivotally connected at its upper end tothe lower end of the plunger 27 by means of the pivot pin 32 beneath thelowermost portion of the yoke 25, which latter is provided at this pointwith a circular bearing portion 33 for engagement by the edge of afulcrum sleeve 34 provided upon the lever 31 adjacent its pivot. Thistripping lever 31 has its lower end enlarged as at 35 to provide anoverbalancing weight, which will become operative upon the body 1becoming overturned, so as to cause the said tripping lever to draw thelocking plunger out of engagement with the ink container, thuspermitting the suspension device to maintain the same in uprightposition. The weighted portion 35 of the tripping lever is heavy enoughto cause tripping of the locking plunger, when the ink well body becomesoverturned, due to the lever action, but is light enough to be supported by the spring 29 under normal conditions.

From the foregoing description, taken in connection with theaccompanying drawings, it will be seen that I have provided an ink wellwhich is adapted to meet all the requirements of usage and which willnot spill the ink upon becoming overturned, and which further is simplein construction so as to b inexpensive in cost of manufacture. It is tobe understood, however, that any desired changes in the construction ofthe device falling within the scope of the claim may be resorted to inpractice.

What I claim is:

An ink well of the class described com prising a supporting body ofhollow construction, an ink container movably mounted within said body,means for suspending said container within the body in an uprightposition irrespective of the position of the supporting body, the saidcontainer being provided with a recess in its under face, a lockingplunger rotatably and slidably mounted within the body, yieldable meansfor normally maintaining the said plunger in its innermost position withits inner end in engagement with the container recess, the supportingbody being provided with abearing under face surrounding the plunger, atripping lever pivotally connected at one end to the lower end of theplunger, an annular fulcrum sleeve provided on the lever adjacent itspivot-ed end for engagement with the said bearing face, and anoverbalancing weight provided on the opposite end of the lever fortripping the plunger when the supporting body is overturned.

In testimony whereof I afiiX my signature in presence of two witnesses.

ARTHUR WM. SCHIRL.

Witnesses:

FRANK J. Konnro, EDMUND J. EWENS.

Copies of this patent may be obtained for five cents each, by addressingthe Commissioner of Patents, Washington, I). C.

